All-Time Boston Celtics Team: The Point Guard Vote
Sep 28, 2012; Waltham, MA, USA; The Boston Celtic logo on the hardwood floor during the media day at the Celtics training facility. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Celtics fans:
As the new guy on the Hardwood Houdini block, I look forward to sharing my passion for all things green with you, the best fans in the NBA.
One of the great things about covering the Celtics is that this is team has such great tradition, and such knowledgeable fans, that we all look forward while simultaneously looking back into the past. Even when the Cs don’t have as good a year as we would like, we still enjoy the memories of a franchise that has enjoyed more success than any other team in NBA history.
I’m as eager as anyone to begin discussing the 2013-2014 version of the Boston Celtics, but before the regular season begins, I wanted to take a look at Celtics’ players past and present in order to decide who would be the ultimate, All-Time Boston Celtics team?
Each entry in this series will be focus on one position, including head coach, and after I have finished making the case for various players/coaches, I’ll step aside and allow you to vote in the poll!
Today, we’ll start with the point guard position.
Let’s start with the Celtics current, albeit currently injured, point guard, Rajon Rondo. Since leaving Kentucky early and being
Jan 2, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) dribbles the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
acquired by the Celtics via a trade with the Phoenix Suns in 2006, Rondo has led the Cs to the NBA Finals twice, won a championship in 2008, and established himself as the best distributor of the rock playing today. In just six seasons with Boston (and clearly, it’s not even a full six, due to last year’s injury), Rondo is already ranked 6th on the team’s assist leaderboard, with an assist-per-game ratio of 8.3 – the best in Celtics history. He’s an athletic freak who can get to the rim at will, rebound, shut down opposing point guards, and steal the ball before the other player even knows he had it.
Another point guard who was known for dishing the rock and playing shut-down D? Dennis Johnson, winner of NBA titles in 2004 and 2006 and another Celtic great who ranks among Boston’s top ten in assists and steals. DJ was nowhere near the athletic specimen that Rondo is – there were many nights where I seriously wondered whether he was the slowest guard in the NBA – but he was savvy, and always seemed to know where to be on the floor, his miraculous catch-and-score after Larry Bird’s game-saving steal in Game 5 of the 2007 playoff battle against the Detroit Pistons serving as a prime example.
Third on my list of possible starters? Jo Jo White, the man Rondo recently passed on his way up the assists leader ladder. White began his career with the Celtics during a time of transition, and suffered through a 48-loss season in 1969-1970, before leading the team to NBA championships in 1973-1974 and 1975-1976. White was named the Finals MVP in 1976, and made the NBA All-Star team seven years in a row. It’s no stretch to say that he kept the Celtics relevant at a time when they could have suffered from a severe, post Bill Russell hangover.
Finally, no discussion of Boston Celtics point guard would be complete without mentioning Brian Shaw. Kidding! Of course I’m referring to the one and the only Bob Cousy, the man who turned the assist into a thing of beauty. His 6,945 assists place him comfortably atop all Celtics players, and while he may “only” be ranked 15th among all NBA players for most assists, he didn’t earn the nicknames Mr. Basketball and the Houdini of the Hardwood for nothing. He is one of only four players to be named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team, the NBA 35th Anniversary Team, and the NBA 50th Anniversary Team. The guy won at every level (college championship in 1947; 6 NBA Championships), was a perennial All-Star, won an NBA MVP . . . ah, so who’s fighting for second place, again?
Now: your turn to vote! Pick who you feel should be the starting point guard on the All-Time Boston Celtics team; the player with the most votes will start, while the second place vote-getter will come off the bench! Please leave any comments you have below – I love a good conversation!